BIO

I believe in hard work and common sense leadership because I know they work. My life is a testimony to it. I’ve overcome obstacle after obstacle throughout my life to get to where I am today, and I’m a better man, husband, father, servant, and leader because of it.

2 years old, in England.

I was born in Oxford England, where my Father, a former U.S.A.F. Airman and telecom pioneer was stationed at RAF Croughton. After a couple years, my parents divorced, with my Father getting full custody, and it was time to come back “across the pond” to the States. I spent the next couple years in Warner Robins, where we lived in base housing. Dad would eventually exit the Air Force honorably and soon began working for I.T.T. which lead us to move to the other Dallas, Dallas, TX. A short time after, we wound up in middle Tennessee after Dad accepted a job with MCI. We bounced around the eastern suburbs of Nashville, TN between 1st and 9th grade while Dad worked for MCI, until Dad’s position with MCI in Nashville was eliminated and he accepted a lateral promotion based in Atlanta. We landed in Cartersville, Georgia where I would later graduate from Cass High School in 1997. I would go on to attend Kennesaw State University where I was active in Pi Kappa Phi (Fraternity), IFC, Student Government, and KSU College Republicans.

During my early 20’s I hit rock bottom. For a month, I lived out of my car and slept on the floors of my friends’ garages. I watched my house burn down. I was near financial ruin. But I fought. I scraped. I worked hard. I did everything I could to avoid handouts, take every job I could, and will my way to success and a better life. It wasn’t easy, but I never gave up. I had a vision for my life; becoming impoverished, homeless or a statistic was not part of the plan. Somewhere in the midst of it all, I was blessed to meet Amanda, the love of my life. She grew up in Laurinburg, North Carolina, where her Dad, the son of a preacher himself, preached at a local Presbyterian church until 1998 when he accepted a call to another church in Marietta, GA where he would later retire in 2010. She encouraged me. Battled beside me. She became my best friend and my rock. We got married in 2003, and a few months later we bought our first house. I can vividly remember the feeling of pride the day we were handed the keys to that house. It was a tiny little starter home, but it was ours. Since then, we’ve “moved on up” and now own our third and “forever home” in Bentwater. I’m proud that we can say we’ve been married nearly 15 years, we have three lovely and healthy children, our faith in Jesus remains strong, I am the co-owner of a national marketing agency and co-founder of an outdoor expedition & adventure company, and we proudly call the Cedarcrest Community, and North Paulding our home. GO PACK!

I may not have been “born-and-raised” in Paulding County, but it feels like I was. As someone that moved around my entire childhood (I attended 9 different schools from K-12), Paulding County is the first place where I’ve ever truly felt “at home” or like I could say “these are my people.” I’m blessed to have friends in every corner of the county too. From Braswell, to Burnt Hickory, New Hope, and North Paulding, I feel welcome and at home here. That’s one of the reasons why Amanda and I chose to live here. That’s why I’m so involved and invested in this community. We want that life and experience for our children; a welcoming community and hometown grounded in values, and surrounded by fresh air and green spaces. Like so many people in North Paulding, we left a neighboring county because we were tired of the congestion, overcrowding, and constant politics that negatively affected our quality of life, our pocket book, and our children’s education. We chose to live here because it’s a great community with great people. We chose to live here because the home values were great. We chose to live here because the schools are better. And I want to be sure that the same opportunities are available to every resident of Paulding County, especially our children.

But that opportunity for success, community, and quality of life is in danger. There are a lot of growing concerns throughout Post 4 about infrastructure, taxes, growth, lack of economic development, schools, and home values. The time is now for us to start finding constructive solutions to those concerns, and to develop collaboration between the communities of Paulding County. We must stop kicking the can down the road, stop wasting taxpayers’ money, and start working toward progress again. It’s time for leadership that knows how to negotiate and manage change and conflict. It’s time for leadership that eliminates special interests. It’s time for leadership that knows how to encourage commercial development and effectively market Paulding County to the world. I’m a concerned citizen, a frustrated tax-payer, and I’m sick and tired of special interests controlling our government and draining our tax dollars. That is why I am running for Post 4 Commissioner. I hope you’ll stand with me. I’m counting on you to VOTE for me on May 22nd.